“After a highly successful string of 7 albums in 16 years – including two with prominent UK sax player Andy Sheppard – Almost There is yet another melodic masterclass from pianist and composer Espen Eriksen. Captivating and lyrical, always melodic and often melancholic and uplifting at the same time, these are all real tunes, whether instantly catchy or needing a couple of spins to grow.
“Music with a rich sense of melody coupled with a poignant lyricism that is infectious”.All About Jazz “A wonderfully plaintive jazz record, abandoned to the lost art of melodic minimalism, stripped back and beautifully near bare. No smoke and mirrors, just the graceful chemistry of superb musicians at the top of their game”.
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Blues? Maybe, in atmospheric terms. But not in the 12-bar, blues-rock or Delta blues sense. Or most other senses. The album title is a play on Miles Davis’ end-of-’60s LP Bitches Brew which, at that point, was his most overt nod to the dynamics of rock music. Nonetheless, Bitches Blues doesn’t obviously use the 1969 set as a point from which to jump. But the reference sets up the first studio album from Hedvig Mollestad Weejuns – the latter word a slang reference to the trio’s Norwegian identity – as non-conformist, carving-out their own musical character; albeit just within the limits of the outer edges of jazz.
Bees in the Bonnet kicks off with powerful riffing reminiscent of ’70s/’80s hard rock and metal. Veteran guitarist Hedvig Mollestad has always had one foot in the world of these no-nonsense grooves as well as European free improv and progressive rock.